11 epic graduation speeches to get you motivated
It’s that time of year again.
Break out the tissues because "Good Morning America" has rounded up the most epic graduation speeches of all time.
From Oprah to Ellen DeGeneres, these celebrities shared how their failures have led to success. Whether you're a graduate or just looking for some inspiration, this is all the motivation you need to get through any chapter in your life.
Chance The Rapper
Dillard University, 2018
“We have a responsibility to be not as good as them or live up to their example, but surpass them. Even when it seems scary we have to overcome that fear and be greater than our role models.”
Oprah
University of Southern California, 2018
“This moment in time, this is your time to rise, even though you can’t go anywhere -- you can’t stand in line at Starbucks, you can’t go to a party, you can’t go any place where anywhere you turn people are talking about how bad things are, how terrible it is. And this is what I know: The problem is everybody is meeting hysteria with more hysteria and then we’re all becoming hysterical and it’s getting worse. What I’ve learned all these years is that we’re not supposed to match it or even get locked into resisting or pushing against it. We’re supposed to see this moment in time for what it is.”
Michelle Obama
Tuskegee University, 2015
“You have got everything you need to do this. You’ve got it in you. Because even if you’re nervous or unsure about what path to take in the years ahead, I want you to realize that you’ve got everything you need right now to succeed.”
Will Ferrell
University of Southern California, 2017
“No matter how cliché it may sound, you will never truly be successful until you learn to give beyond yourself. Empathy and kindness are the true signs of emotional intelligence, and that’s what Viv and I try to teach our boys.”
Sheryl Sandberg
University of California, Berkeley, 2016
“When life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, find the surface, and breathe again.”
J.K. Rowling
Harvard University, 2008
“Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
Ellen DeGeneres
Tulane University, 2009
“It was so important for me to lose everything because I found out what the most important thing is -- to be true to yourself. Ultimately, that’s what’s gotten me to this place. I don’t live in fear, I’m free. I have no secrets and I know I’ll always be OK, because no matter what, I know who I am.”
Denzel Washington
University of Pennsylvania, 2011
“Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn’t either, because number 1,001 was the light bulb. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”
Jemele Hill
University of Maryland, 2018
“All you have to do is believe in one really simple principle: love the process. Screw the results.”
Jim Carrey
Maharishi University, 2014
“Fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about your pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what’s happening here, and the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear.”
Abby Wambach
Barnard College, 2018
“Women, at this moment in history, leadership is calling us to say: give me the ball. Give me the job. Give me the same pay that the guy next to me gets. Give me the promotion. Give me the microphone. Give me the oval office. Give me the respect I’ve earned and give it to my wolf pack too.”
